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75 new favorite year


Mr_K

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Anyone else finding 1975 a new favorite year? I'm listening to Seattle 17 and enjoy the Dazed very much. Last year till O2 they played Dazed. First year for Kashmir. Almost always fresh. Trampled Underfoot and In My Time Of Dying. Great blues.

If I had a "dream year" with nothing but soundboards, thiis would now be my choice. Even with the new soundboards recently it needs a new look. It's an under-rated year.

Thanks.

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I find that a very interesting view. How many boots/shows/ soundboards have you heard, including the EC shows ???

As a guitarist, I find 1975 to have the overall most complex playing of Page's career, but only a small margin over 73'.

But many versions of D&C, TSRTS, OTHAFA, SIBLY,IMTOD,NQ(many will argue 77', but too sloppy for me)have Page at his

very best. Some Kashmir's were great but the keys and guitar were often not in tune, so for a musician this could be hard to

Listen to.

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I love all the tours but the '75 tour is my least favorite. They seem to have slowed a step and Robert's voice is rough.

^This. Coulda used more new material too, Custard Pie would have been a nice opener, and they shouldn't have bailed on WTLB and Wanton. ...and HOTH would have been cool... and a full Rover.

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I find that a very interesting view. How many boots/shows/ soundboards have you heard, including the EC shows ???

As a guitarist, I find 1975 to have the overall most complex playing of Page's career, but only a small margin over 73'.

But many versions of D&C, TSRTS, OTHAFA, SIBLY,IMTOD,NQ(many will argue 77', but too sloppy for me)have Page at his

very best. Some Kashmir's were great but the keys and guitar were often not in tune, so for a musician this could be hard to

Listen to.

I have 14 different '75 shows, and some of them are great but compared to all the other tours, I listen to '75 the least. It's not something that I thought out, it's just how it has worked out. I'm less surprised by '75 shows, they seem a little more formulaic and predictable than the other tours.

I love the PG stuff, in fact I have been known to skip the other songs on those recordings, but there are only four they play, come on, it's a double album! Where's The Rover, Night Flight, Custard Pie, Houses of the Holy, or The Wanton Song?

As far as guitar playing, the 68-73 era is far superior in my opinion, and '77 has Page in his most "sloppy" glory, which I love! I still like a Led Zeppelin 1975 bootleg show over most other bands, I'm only comparing them to the high standards they had set.

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Well, each year has its own flavour to enjoy , and it's own strengths and weaknesses. Every year (apart from '79 and '80) is my favourite Zeppelin year, but as far as '75 goes for me;

the main weaknesses; probably the usual gripes;

.Robert's voice (obviously) though can usually be lived with cos everything else is so 'on.'

.Overlong Dazed and Confused. When a section of a song has made it's point it is time to move on, rather than making the same point again and again.

.Rock and Roll - had its day in '73 as an opener, and feels a little lazy and conservative as an opener in '75 though still enjoyable.

.NQ - often sounds a tad ponderous and directionless on this tour to my ears. Seemed to work best either as a compact piece in '73 or a full blown epic in '77, but not so well as the kind of in-between thing it was in '75, plus Robert sang it way better in '77.

main strenghts;

.Very rich and balanced setlist, especially the EC shows.

.Jimmy's gorgeous tone. Very articulate and sweet, but with plenty of bite.

.Jimmy's consistently great, spacy soloing on OTHAFA.

.PG songs, TUF, IMTOD, SA, and Kashmir all sound very fresh and vibrant, though I prefer '77 SAs for their more decadent and wasted feel which suited that tour down to the ground, and for the bend and arpeggio Jimmy introduced to the riff. Prefer '77 Kashmirs for the superior vocals, as the vocal is what this song most hangs on, I'd say.

.TSRTS - reckon they totally nailed this one in '75. The song just seemed to totally suit Jimmy's sound and ability at this point. The '77 ones worked great as an opening charge but suffered some loss of detail as a result, I feel, especially as they took it at quite a gallop. Plus, Jimmy's thin '77 tone and diminished chops, together with Jonesy's Alembic bass turned it into quite a different animal in '77.

.They looked glorious onstage - more like friggin' gods than humans.

.Good year for Plantations. A confident and relaxed Robert having a lot of fun on stage, and often at the expense of Bonham, Jonesy, (rarely Jimmy, tellingly), and the road-crew.

Still holding out for a best of Earl's Court official release. The multitracks are there and I'm sure Jimmy could assemble a very nice 3cd set comprising the setlist from highlights of each night a la How the West Was Won. Surely there are enough strong performances from the 5 nights to choose from and clean up. It would make a lot people very happy and would be a commercially and artistically sound venture. Why not?

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I find that a very interesting view. How many boots/shows/ soundboards have you heard, including the EC shows ???

As a guitarist, I find 1975 to have the overall most complex playing of Page's career, but only a small margin over 73'.

But many versions of D&C, TSRTS, OTHAFA, SIBLY,IMTOD,NQ(many will argue 77', but too sloppy for me)have Page at his

very best. Some Kashmir's were great but the keys and guitar were often not in tune, so for a musician this could be hard to

Listen to.

77? An extra Achilles Heal and Nobody's Fault But Mine. Not much. And the guitar / drum solos for 77. Tries my patience.

I think I've heard all the 75 releases, except the Seattle 21 on soundboard, which I've heard/read rumors to exist.

I know in 75 there were some tuning problems. But re listen to the NYC February 12 to 14, or the East Coast March 17 to 21, or the final 2 Earls Court 24 / 25. What a set list, and the band was really in sync. Few glitches, and there's more variety than the 77 shows.

Anyone else hear the same consistent and enthusiatic delivery in the best shows of 77? Maybe if we get more 77 shows my opinion may change, but I think they matured for this,1975, their final great live year.

I'm not discounting 71 - 73, just saying in 75 with the expanded repertoire we have a fuller Zeppelin experience.

Robert Plant said to understand Zep you have to hear Kashmir. I agree and I think the strongest versions are on this tour.

Thanks.

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Definetly agree that in 75' the band was more consistent and reliable than 77'. An official Earl's Court release(not just 5 ? songs in the DVD)

would be welcome. But Page would inevitably so drastically clean up the sound and even punch in replaced solo fragments that you

wouldn't even recognize the original source. Goddammnn!!!!

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  • 2 months later...

I have to agree with a lot that's stated throughout this thread. I gravitate towards '75 for Zeppelin live.
I love the look and the sound of the band at this point - rough patches and all.

Jimmy Page!! He's the definition of a rockstar. The man has some great swagger going on stage that year.

It's a bonus where video footage has been captured at this stage. There are many shows through-out Zeppelin's -
12 years showcasing why this band is number one for my listening pleasure, but '75 live is definitely a go-to choice.
for live shows for me.

Damn I wish I had a time machine..... :D

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I love 75', great tour year and the March shows in particular are probably the best shows the band ever played. Jimmy is at his technical peak during the March gigs...SD, LA, Seattle, Vancouver, Baton Rouge. Simply amazing.

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I love 75', great tour year and the March shows in particular are probably the best shows the band ever played. Jimmy is at his technical peak during the March gigs...SD, LA, Seattle, Vancouver, Baton Rouge. Simply amazing.

Very recently you called out EC 75 as LZ’s high point as a live band. Change of heart? Maybe we can agree that 1975 gets a majority of the attention because of the generous quantity of beautiful soundboards which document it. I love 1975 like I love every tour but if phrases like “best shows the band ever played” are suggested, I’m not sure they apply to 1975 like they may apply to Europe 1973, a tour which would get the attention it deserves if it was documented like 1975. I’m thinking specifically of Vienna, Munich, Berlin, Essen and Paris, as Offenbach has gotten plenty of attention. The concerts on this tour, essentially a warm-up for “going public”, feature a combination of skill, confidence, and execution which, song for song, are arguably unmatched by any concert afterwards. These performances set the standard by which U.S. tour 1973 LZ on has to, musically, as a consistent cohesive unit, be compared. (See the popular "1977 pros & cons" and “why should I listen to 1980" threads).

IMO the LA 75 shows are way overrated due to the incredible recordings. Definitely not among LZ’s best shows ever. Not even top 20. What do I especially enjoy from 75? 01-20 Chicago, 02-06 Montreal, 02-12 NYC, 03-05 Dallas, 03-12 Long Beach, 03-21 Seattle, 05-24 EC. The covers inserted in Heartbreaker. Dazed and Confused. Plantations. Dragons. Linda Lovelace. I do dig it all. But, best shows ever, representing LZ at the height of their musical powers? 1975?

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Very recently you called out EC 75 as LZ’s high point as a live band. Change of heart? Maybe we can agree that 1975 gets a majority of the attention because of the generous quantity of beautiful soundboards which document it. I love 1975 like I love every tour but if phrases like “best shows the band ever played” are suggested, I’m not sure they apply to 1975 like they may apply to Europe 1973, a tour which would get the attention it deserves if it was documented like 1975. I’m thinking specifically of Vienna, Munich, Berlin, Essen and Paris, as Offenbach has gotten plenty of attention. The concerts on this tour, essentially a warm-up for “going public”, feature a combination of skill, confidence, and execution which, song for song, are arguably unmatched by any concert afterwards. These performances set the standard by which U.S. tour 1973 LZ on has to, musically, as a consistent cohesive unit, be compared. (See the popular "1977 pros & cons" and “why should I listen to 1980" threads).

IMO the LA 75 shows are way overrated due to the incredible recordings. Definitely not among LZ’s best shows ever. Not even top 20. What do I especially enjoy from 75? 01-20 Chicago, 02-06 Montreal, 02-12 NYC, 03-05 Dallas, 03-12 Long Beach, 03-21 Seattle, 05-24 EC. The covers inserted in Heartbreaker. Dazed and Confused. Plantations. Dragons. Linda Lovelace. I do dig it all. But, best shows ever, representing LZ at the height of their musical powers? 1975?

Music is subjective, you have your opinion and I have mine. I point out I said musical powers, that is Bonham, Jones, and Page, and IMO I am correct, this is some of the best playing live those three did. Plant on the other hand had a fucked up voice for most of the tour which is unfortunate but it still sounded pretty good for most of the late Feb & March dates of the US tour. I still feel the best 75' performance is EC May 24th, but some of those US dates come in a very close second.

Glad you like Europe 73' though, maybe you should start a thread on it and really tell us how you feel.

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IMO the LA 75 shows are way overrated due to the incredible recordings. Definitely not among LZ’s best shows ever. Not even top 20. What do I especially enjoy from 75? 01-20 Chicago, 02-06 Montreal, 02-12 NYC, 03-05 Dallas, 03-12 Long Beach, 03-21 Seattle, 05-24 EC. The covers inserted in Heartbreaker. Dazed and Confused. Plantations. Dragons. Linda Lovelace. I do dig it all. But, best shows ever, representing LZ at the height of their musical powers? 1975?

:goodpost:

It sometimes boggles my mind how many people here think 75 is so good, sometimes they even say it like it's a known fact or something. :wall:

1970, Japan 1971, US Tour 1972=Best :yesnod:

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It's quite difficult for me to dislike a 1975 show. Robert's voice quite a few times gives him an almost 30s Blues singer voice.

My only problem, is a lack of Physical Graffiti Songs. We had Sick Again, Trampled Underfoot, Kashmir and In My Time of Dying. Plus The Wanton Song on only a few Dates, that's only 4 songs performed on every date. Physical Graffiti has 15 songs. That's 11 songs not performed. It's not like they didn't have enough songs to work with.

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My only problem, is a lack of Physical Graffiti Songs. We had Sick Again, Trampled Underfoot, Kashmir and In My Time of Dying. Plus The Wanton Song on only a few Dates, that's only 4 songs performed on every date. Physical Graffiti has 15 songs. That's 11 songs not performed. It's not like they didn't have enough songs to work with.

Indeed. See, although the 1975 tour gave us some mighty impressive playing, the set list has to be the least 'adventurous' of the band's career. And, considering it was supposed to be the tour promoting Physical Graffiti, the album is underrepresented. There's probably at least another three or four songs -"Custard Pie", "The Rover", "In The Light" (maybe), "Ten Years Gone" and "Wanton" all seem like no brainers to me- that should have been played, at the expense of a couple of the warhorses perhaps. On the whole, as I've said many times, for me the '75 tour is simply the '73 tour writ large. Sure, I appreciate the whole idea that they were trying to offer a bit of a career retrospective with the songs they chose but Zeppelin was playing it safe in 1975.

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^This. Coulda used more new material too, Custard Pie would have been a nice opener, and they shouldn't have bailed on WTLB and Wanton. ...and HOTH would have been cool... and a full Rover.

I agree, but they kinda painted themselves into a corner. What songs do you drop, or perhaps shorten? No Quarter approx 10 mins, Dazed approx 15-20 mins, Stairway approx 10 mins, Whole Lotta Love approx 15-20 mins. I'm no math guy, but that's an hour there for 4 songs.

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I agree, but they kinda painted themselves into a corner. What songs do you drop, or perhaps shorten? No Quarter approx 10 mins, Dazed approx 15-20 mins, Stairway approx 10 mins, Whole Lotta Love approx 15-20 mins. I'm no math guy, but that's an hour there for 4 songs.

I personally would have dropped OTHAFA, and maybe TSRTS.

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I agree, but they kinda painted themselves into a corner. What songs do you drop, or perhaps shorten? No Quarter approx 10 mins, Dazed approx 15-20 mins, Stairway approx 10 mins, Whole Lotta Love approx 15-20 mins. I'm no math guy, but that's an hour there for 4 songs.

Dazed reached it's zenith in 73 IMO. That's like a half hour right there lol.

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Dazed reached it's zenith in 73 IMO. That's like a half hour right there lol.

Sorry but for me the best Dazed by a long shot is the second longest played at 45 minutes: Seattle March 21st 1975. My personal favorite.

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I personally would have dropped OTHAFA, and maybe TSRTS.

It's hard to say, I like OTHAFA, perhaps if they toned down the extended versions, other new songs could have been fit in.

I was thinking about this a bit, it was also the trend back then, not only Zep but many bands. For an example, we saw Lynyrd Skynrd back in 77 before that fateful day, & they played Freebird for almost 1/2 an hour. So it was kinda the norm back then.

I would have been ok with leaving TSRTS off, but it's a tough call.

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It's hard to say, I like OTHAFA, perhaps if they toned down the extended versions, other new songs could have been fit in.

I was thinking about this a bit, it was also the trend back then, not only Zep but many bands. For an example, we saw Lynyrd Skynrd back in 77 before that fateful day, & they played Freebird for almost 1/2 an hour. So it was kinda the norm back then.

I would have been ok with leaving TSRTS off, but it's a tough call.

I chose those two because those were the ones that Robert struggled with the most. Although now I think about it, maybe swap Rock and Roll for Custard Pie as well.

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